Mustangs slay Dragons,
advance to state quarterinals
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 134
NO. 43
8 Pages
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
City seeks broad new powers over
‘chronic nuisance’ properties
Proposed ordinance would allow city to
“close and secure” homes or apartments
against occupancy for up to one year
By David Sykes
In an effort to correct
what it deems “chronic nui-
sance” properties, the Hep-
pner city council Monday
moved forward with a new
ordinance granting it broad
powers to remove people
from nuisance homes, busi-
nesses or apartments and
then prevent occupancy of
that property for up to one
year. City Manager Kim
Cutsforth says the new ordi-
nance, which was borrowed
from Pendleton, is neces-
sary because some proper-
ties are not responding to
current nuisance abatement
methods.
Under the proposed
ordinance, a copy of which
was handed out at Mon-
day’s council meeting, if a
home (or any property) is
turned in three times within
90 days for any of 19 named
nuisances, the court may
“authorize the city to physi-
cally secure the property
against all unauthorized
access, use or occupancy
for not less than 30 days or
more than one year.”
The 19 “nuisances”
that can trigger the action
include: harassment; intimi-
dation; disorderly conduct;
assault or menacing; sexual
abuse, contributing to the
delinquency of a minor or
sexual misconduct; public
indecency; prostitution;
alcoholic liquor violations;
offensive littering; crimi-
nal trespass; theft; arson;
possession, manufacture,
or delivery of a controlled
substance; illegal gam-
bling; criminal mischief,
conspiracy to commit any
of the above activities; ire
or discharge of a irearm;
unlawful operation of sound
producing or reproducing
-See CITY COUNCIL/PAGE
THREE
School district discusses ield
trips, student safety
By April Sykes
The Morrow County
School Board Monday
night voted overwhelm-
ingly against allowing stu-
dents from other districts to
accompany MCSD students
on ield trips.
Board member Barney
Lindsay was the sole dis-
senting vote.
“It’s great that kids get
to do things, but who are we
serving?” said board mem-
ber Thad Killingbeck, who
voted against expanding
ield trip eligibility. “FFA
is a club spending their
own money to go to a place.
It’s not a ield trip,” said
Killingbeck, making the
distinction between school
ield trips and extracurricu-
lar activities such as FFA or
Technology Students Asso-
ciation trips to their national
conventions.
Others cited the prob-
lems that could arise, such
as behavioral and liabil-
ity issues, if students from
other districts were allowed
to attend MCSD ield trips.
At the meeting, Super-
Man arrested in I-84
car chase
A leeing suspect forced a collision with an Oregon State
Police trooper on I-84, but the trooper still managed to stop
the Dodge Avenger and arrest the driver. –Photo courtesy of
Oregon State Police
A Grand Ronde man
was arrested after a car
chase and collision with
Oregon State Police on I-84
near Boardman last week.
On Nov. 4 about 4:30
p.m., OSP troopers from the
Hermiston ofice responded
to a welfare check on Inter-
state 84 near milepost 174
(just east of Boardman). A
2008 Dodge Avenger was
seen parked in the emer-
gency vehicle turnaround
at that location. Police said
initial reports indicated the
vehicle had been involved
in a possible domestic dis-
turbance.
An OSP trooper made
contact with the lone oc-
cupant of the vehicle, later
identiied as Clint D. Cu-
reton, 22, of Grand Ronde,
OR. Cureton became bel-
ligerent and led the area
at “a high rate of speed,”
police said.
The trooper pursued
the vehicle eastbound on
I-84, reaching speeds of
over 100 miles per hour.
The suspect driver suddenly
slammed on his brakes, ap-
parently trying to cause a
collision with the pursuing
trooper. The trooper man-
aged to slow considerably
and make an evasive ma-
neuver, but the vehicles still
collided.
After the impact, the
trooper managed to force
the Dodge to a stop into the
-See CAR CHASE/PAGE
FIVE
intendent Dirk Dirksen told
the board that the district
is in the process of hiring
a nurse to work primarily
with children in the schools
and with other district is-
sues.
“The biggest challenge
is hiring a nurse,” added
Dirksen.
Dirksen said that Todd
Siex is now working as a
student resource officer
in Heppner and Irrigon.
Dirksen said he would be
-See SCHOOL DISTRICT/
PAGE FOUR
Wyatt Steagall takes down a Monroe Dragon in last Staurday’s irst-round state playoff game.
The Mustangs defeated the visitors 55-14 to move on to the quarterinals. The Mustangs will host
the Reedsport Braves in a quarterinal game this Saturday at 1 p.m. –Photo by Sandra Putman
-See sory PAGE FOUR
Heppner ire hall bonds pass,
Lexington local option tax renewed
Voters in both the City
of Heppner and the Hep-
pner Rural Fire Protection
District passed bond mea-
sures last week to build
a new $975,000 ire hall,
while Lexington residents
approved a five-year re-
newal of a local option
tax for the Lexington Fire
Department.
According to final
results released by Mor-
row County Clerk Bob-
bi Childers, all measures
passed overwhelmingly.
In Heppner, 317 resi-
dents, or 71 percent, voted
to approve up to $585,000
of general obligation bonds
to pay capital costs related
to a new ire hall, with 124
dissenting. The bond mon-
ies are intended to cover 60
percent of the cost of the
new hall, with the other 40
percent, $390,000, covered
by the Heppner Rural Fire
Protection bond that was
also on the ballot. The rural
ire district bond passed by
more than 80 percent, 193
to 41. The bond levies will
be for 21 years.
The new station will be
built just outside city limits
at Highway 74 and Fuller
Canyon Road, on land do-
nated by Morrow County
Grain Growers.
-See ELECTION RESULTS/
PAGE FIVE
Electric Co-Op holds 71 st annual
meeting
By David Sykes
of $805,035 in iscal year ger online presence in the
Columbia Basin Elec- 2015, which ended in June. spring, when they hope to
tric Co-op held its
This is up slightly have a website that custom-
71 st annual meeting
from $765,450 over ers can log onto and check
last Thursday, and
last year. Wolff also their account and pay their
officials reported
reported
electric bills.
the co-op is in good
there will be
He also intro-
condition.
a capital re-
duced past and pres-
President Lori
distribution
ent employees of
Anderson reported CBEC
of
$660,000
the co-op who were
President
the results of the Lori
which would
in attendance at the
election, which saw Anderson
go out to
meeting, which was
Gary Wilde elected
those who Co-op
held in the Catholic
to the board of directors in were members in manager
Church parish hall
zone one, and Roy Carlson the last half of 1984 Tom Wolff
in Heppner. He es-
Jr. in zone seven.
and 1985 and be
pecially spoke to
Co-op Manger Thomas based on their percentage long-time, now retired,
Wolff reported that the i- of ownership of the co-op. employee Bill Gentry, who
-See CO-OP MEETING/
nances of the business were
Wolff also reported that
PAGE THREE
sound, showing net margins the co-op is planning a big-
Fish and Wildlife Commission delists wolves
statewide in split vote (4-2)
SALEM, Ore.—The
Fish and Wildlife Commis-
sion voted to delist wolves
from the state Endangered
Species Act throughout
Oregon Monday.
The meeting began at
8 a.m. and adjourned at
6:44 p.m. About 106 people
came to testify and they
were limited to three min-
utes each.
Commissioners
thanked the public for com-
ing to testify and asked that
interests on both sides of the
issue continue to work with
each other.
Chair Finley noted
the many people “some in
cowboy hats and others in
t-shirts supporting wolves”
who came out to testify on
opposite sides of the issue
because they care about
wolves.
“The Wolf Plan has
been working well and you
are all responsible for that,”
he told the public still in the
meeting at the end of the
day. “We will remember
the merits of the Wolf Plan
and the next one will be as
good or better. You can all
help that happen.”
With the Commission’s
decision made, the rule was
iled with the Secretary of
State Nov. 10. The filing
removes wolves from the
An ODFW biologist in the process of collaring wolf OR33, a
two-year-old adult male from the Imnaha pack, this year in
Wallowa County. Larger wild animals are typically blindfolded
while immobilized to protect eyes and to help calm them. -Photo
by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
state ESA but has no other
effect on wolf management
at this time.
The Wolf Plan contin-
ues to provide protection of
wolves into the future. Any
take of wolves is tightly
regulated in all phases of
the plan. Non-lethal preven-
tive measures to prevent
wolf-livestock conlict are
the irst choice of wildlife
managers in all phases of
wolf management. There
is no general season sport
hunting of wolves allowed
in any phase of the Wolf
Plan.
Wolves in western Or-
egon will continue to be
managed with ESA-like
protections until they reach
the conservation objective
of four breeding pairs for
three consecutive years.
This is known as Phase 1 of
wolf management.
Additionally, west of
Hwys. 395-78-95 wolves
are also still listed under the
federal Endangered Species
Act and the Commission’s
action has no effect on their
federal status.
Wolves in eastern Or-
egon moved to Phase 2 of
management earlier this
year. They will move to
Phase 3 after ODFW docu-
ments seven breeding pairs
for three consecutive years,
which could occur as early
as January 2017. In Phase 3
while wolves are delisted,
controlled take of wolves
-See WOLVES DELISTED/
PAGE THREE
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